India to move UN again for Masood Azhar ban

Undeterred by China scuttling its previous attempt to get Jaish-e-Mohammed chief and one of the Pathankot attack masterminds Masood Azhar banned by the UN, India today said it will again move the global body with the demand soon.

“We will be moving to 1267 Sanctions Committee to also include the name of Masood Azhar on the sanctions list. It is a great anomaly that the organisation Jaish-e-Mohammed is listed but not its leader,” External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Vikas Swarup said here.

He also noted that India has already submitted to the UN’s Sanction Committee a fresh list of 11 terrorists from Pakistan -based terror groups affiliated to al Qaeda, Taliban and other outfits responsible for terrorism in the country.

On February 18, a fresh submission of 11 individuals and one organisation linked to terrorism in India, was submitted to the 1267/1989/2253 ISIL (Da’esh) and al Qaeda Sanctions Committee.

The UN had banned JeM in 2001 but India’s efforts to ban Azhar after the Mumbai terror attacks did not fructify as China, one of the five permanent members of the UN group with Veto Powers, didn’t allow the ban apparently on the behest of Pakistan.